Oprah’s Favorite Thing for 2008: SwapaDVD.com!

Well, not really, but it should be! Oprah’s annual list creates a buying and spending frenzy among her viewers and the people who benefit the most (I’m going to assume that Oprah doesn’t get any kick-backs) are the manufacturers, publishers and distributors of those items deemed worthy enough to appear on her list. Did you know that Williams Sonoma had 2 items on her Favorite Things list in 2007??? You can bet they LOOOOOVE Oprah! Most of the items, while lush and appealing, are too expensive for the average person/family to really afford, with fully half of them costing over $90. Would I spend $42 for 3 bars of soap? Only if they were made with the fat off Elvis’ butt! In 2007 she even featured a $3,800 HDTV refrigerator! My God! I could renovate my kitchen for that! Do you REALLY need to watch The Simpsons in HD while you’re cooking? Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been an Oprah fan since the early 1980’s – but an HDTV Fridge?? Come on!

Let me be fair. There are things that have been on Oprah’s list over the years that I love – and some that I buy over and over again! For example, the best thing (IMO) that Oprah has ever had on her list was the Key Lime Cake at WeTakeTheCake.com in 2004! I love this cake so much that I served it as my wedding cake 2 years ago (we had a “Key West” theme)! I’m not trying to bash at Oprah – she rocks! But so many of the things on her yearly lists seem so excessive and make irresponsible purchases for the average consumer.

Wouldn’t it be nice if Oprah included an entry that even her viewers at home could immediately benefit from using without having to justify a “splurge” to the family accountant? But then again, would she feel squeamish about promoting the practice of trading used items that the movie, music and publishing industries are far more interested in selling? You would think that with her own humble beginnings that she might be open to the promotion of sites such as PaperBackSwap, where many of her book club selections may be found and delivered for just the price of postage! She promotes all the things that the developers of these sites promote: books, music and film (PaperBackSwap, SwapaCD and SwapaDVD) . Do you think she’d ever promote the use of swap sites to get these things? I’d hate to believe that it’s all about the money and prestige for Oprah. I’d like to think that she understands that most Americans need to economize right now. Even her frequent guest, Suze Orman, says that too many Americans spend too much – especially during the holidays! The economy sucks, and it’s not gonna get better very soon. In fact, it will likely get much worse. Wouldn’t it be great if Oprah would promote thriftiness??! What’s more, there’s even a healthy element of recycling going on with these sites as untold numbers of books, DVDs and CDs are saved from ultimately ending up at the landfill and are given the opportunity to be used again. What’s better for America? To re-use items multiple times and as a society “share” things or a society where each of us requires our own unique copy to be used and then perhaps discarded?

So here’s a breakdown of Oprahs’ favorite things for 2007:

1. An HD Camcorder – $800
2. A Pair of Boots – $120
3. Watches – $150 – $1,500
4. Cupcakes-$59 (Williams Sonoma)
5. Mixing Bowls and Spoons – $32 & $18 (Williams Sonoma)
6. Electric Mixer – $350
7. Planet Earth DVD Set – $60
8. Body Butter and Buffer – $28 & $55
9. Skin Care System – $195
10. Soaps – $42
11. Book (Oprah’s book club selection, The Pillars of the Earth) – $25
12. Panini Press – $100
13. HDTV Refrigerator (so you can view your HD home movies from #1 while scrambling eggs) – $3,800
14. Sorbetto – $5
15. Clothing (2 piece outfit) – $141 & $194
16. Scrabble – $70
17. United Artists DVD Set – $870
18. Environmental Cleaning Products – $90
19. O’s Guide to Life (book) – $30
20. CD (Josh Groban) – $20

Of course, Oprah very generously lavishes these gifts on each lucky member of her in-studio audience. What could she possible give them from SwapaDVD? Well, to start she could buy a bunch of credits in the kiosk and give each audience member 10 free swaps! (Actually, I’d be willing to bet that the developers of the site would be happy to donate those gift-swaps for her audience members – a $49.95 value!) Personally, I’d be delighted! So come on Oprah, show us who you really are. Will you use your power and influence to encourage your viewers to spend less money acquiring their media items or will you continue to enjoy being courted by every music/movie studio and publishing industry executive that has a new movie, CD or book to sell? It would be easy to ignore this and other similar opportunities to make a difference by encouraging thrift en lieu of consumerism. Surely used goods aren’t beneath you now – are they? lol